The Smash the Stack Wargaming Network hosts several Wargames. A Wargame in our
context can be described as an ethical hacking environment that supports the
simulation of real world software vulnerability theories or concepts and allows
for the legal execution of exploitation techniques. Software can be an Operating
System, network protocol, or any userland application.

To connect to any of the Wargames you need an ssh client (openssh, PuTTy, SecureCRT). Each game has it's own set of connection details. You need
to pay attention to the port and initial username. If you are using a unix variant simply type the following at
the shell prompt:

user@box:$ ssh -l level1 io.smashthestack.org -p2224

when you are prompted for the password enter "level1" without the quotes. This information is also provided on the `io' wargame page.
Once you are logged in read the text (MOTD: Message of the day) that is displayed on your screen.

The goal of the games is for you to get from the first level to the (current) last level. Along the way you should pickup or refine any
techniques that were required to defeat the level. The levels for each game are structured progressively.
You start at the first level. Once you have completed the first level you will
have the credentials to view the password for the next level. This is the same for all the games. To view your current credentials or
userid type the following at the shell prompt:

The focus of the games is not to get root, but you are welcome to try, if you manage to escalate your privileges to the superuser, we ask that you do
not wreak havoc, instead we would appreciate an an email to staff@smashthestack.org notifying us of the deficiency so we can correct it.

To connect to IRC you need an IRC client. We provide a web based IRC client that you
can use or you can download mIRC. If you are using linux, but have limited experience you can use
xchat. If you're an irc warrior and use irssi or bitchx, STOP READING THIS FAQ! :P

Each level has a sub directory called public_html under the respective home directory. Inside that public_html directory is a file called
index.html or tags.html. To add your tag simply use redirection...

In the good old days there were no protections in place for buffer overflows. Modern incarnations of compilers (gcc) and the linux kernel
have implemented several protection techniques. Here are some things you can do to enjoy Stack Smashing at Home